Elections were held on November 7, 2023. This was an off-year election where neither the president or vice president were on the ballot. Seats in the US Congress were not up for election either, save for special elections. One vacancy in the Senate opened up this year due to the death of Dianne Feinstein; California governor Gavin Newsom appointed Laphonza Butler to serve the remainder of Feinstein's term.
March 7 – Oklahoma voters rejected State Question 820, which if passed, would have legalized recreational cannabis for adults 21 and over, given a 15% excise tax on cannabis sales. The margin against State Question 820 was an overwhelming 62% against.
April 4 – Wisconsin voters approved Question 1, Question 2, and Question 3, all by landslides. Questions 1 and 2 were binding votes ratifying amendments to the Constitution of Wisconsin, Question 3 was a nonbinding referendum. Question 1 raised the conditions necessary for pretrial release from jail; Question 2 inserted an additional paragraph allowing judges wider latitude for when to apply cash bail for people accused of violent crimes; Question 3 posed the question "Shall able-bodied, childless adults be required to look for work in order to receive taxpayer-funded welfare benefits?" Question 3 had no legal effect, and Wisconsin law already has work requirements for all welfare programs in the state.
August 8 – Ohioans voted to reject Issue 1 by a margin of 57% against to 43% in favor. If passed, the ballot measure would have required future constitutional amendments to be passed by a 60% margin among other changes, as opposed to the existing 50% margin for approval. The ballot measure was widely seen as a litmus test for a November vote to codify abortion rights in the Republican-led state.
The final of several related shootings which allegedly target Democrats occurs at the home of a Democratic politician in Albuquerque, New Mexico. There are no deaths or injuries.
Amber McLaughlin becomes the first transgender death row inmate executed in the United States
A mass shooting occurs inside a house in Enoch, Utah. Eight members of a single family, consisting of three adults and five children, are killed, with their bodies being found by police during a welfare check.
Five black police officers of the Memphis Police Department, severely beat Tyre Nichols, a 29-year-old Black man, during a traffic stop. Nichols dies due to his injuries on January 10, and his death causes outrage and protests across the country.
January 11 – 2023 FAA system outage: For the first time since 9/11, the Federal Aviation Administration issues a nationwide ground stop following the failure of the FAA's NOTAM system.
January 18 – The US Virgin Islands legalizes marijuana, becoming the third US territory and 25th US jurisdiction overall to do so.
January 19 – Trade union membership hits an all-time low in US dropping from 10.3% to 10.1%.
January 21 – A mass shooting occurs at a dance studio in Monterey Park, California, after a Lunar New Year celebration. Eleven people are killed, and nine more are injured; the perpetrator commits suicide the following day.
January 27 – Protests begin after the Memphis Police Department releases a footage of officers beating Tyre Nichols to death. Following the release of the footage, the department disbands its SCORPION unit while the Memphis Fire Services dismisses three personnel for failing to render aid.
The Federal Reserve raises interest rates by 0.25 percent from 4.5 percent to 4.75 percent.
February 2
In a party-line vote, the House of Representatives ousts Representative Ilhan Omar from the House Committee on Foreign Affairs due to remarks that she had previously made regarding Israeli policy that many deemed as antisemitic.
In United States v. Rahimi, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals rules that a federal law which criminalizes the possession of a firearm by an individual who is subject to a restraining order for domestic violence is unconstitutional.
2023 Chinese balloon incident: Defense officials announce that a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon is being tracked over the western United States.
Georgia judge Robert C.I. McBurney approves the release of parts of a grand jury inquiry investigating Trump's effort to overturn election results in Georgia.
A mass shooting is carried out at Michigan State University. Three students were killed in the attack and five others injured. The shooter committed suicide as he was being approached by police.
February 21–24 – A massive winter storm causes extreme wind and rain on the West Coast of the United States, while bringing extreme blizzard conditions to the Midwest and Northeast.
Trial of Alex Murdaugh: Alex Murdaugh is convicted by a jury and sentenced to life in prison without parole the next day for the murders of both his wife and son as well as two gun charges.
March 2023 United States bank failures: Silvergate Bank, a bank that dealt mostly in cryptocurrency, announces its plan to liquidate and effectively ceases operations after it failed to remain solvent due to a tumultuous cryptocurrency market.
Signature Bank collapses and becomes the third bank in five days to fail. With $110 billion in assets, it is the fourth largest bank failure in American history.
March 13 – The Alaska Willow project, which calls for oil extraction in the northern region of the state, is approved. The project was and remains subject to substantial controversy and protest, especially on social media.
March 14 – The March 2023 nor'easter causes widespread damage and knocks out power for 250,000 people in New York and New England.
March 18 – Wyoming becomes the first US state to ban the Mifepristone pill.
March 20
The Idaho state legislature passes a bill that brings in execution by firing squad. If signed by the governor, Idaho would become the fifth state to use this method.
President Biden issues his first veto to block a federal rule by the Department of Labor to weigh the long-term impacts of social factors and climate change on investments.
March 22 – The Federal Reserve raises interest rates by 0.25 percent from 4.75 percent to 5 percent.
March 24–27 – A tornado outbreak kills at least 26 people in Mississippi and Alabama. This includes a violent tornado which devastated the city of Rolling Fork and the town of Silver City in Mississippi, killing 16 people and injuring 165 others.
President Biden invokes the Defense Production Act to spend $50 million on the production of printed circuit boards.
March 28 – The United States announces that it will stop sharing information about its nuclear arsenal with Russia over the latter's withdrawal from the New START nuclear arms treaty.
April 1 – Federal judge Robert L. Pitman orders that twelve books containing LGBT and racial content which were banned by Llano County, Texas school officials must be returned to school shelves.
The Arizona Supreme Court rules that the Latter-day Saints Church can refuse to answer questions or turn over documents under a state law that exempts religious officials from having to report child sex abuse if they learn of the crime during a confessional setting.
Florida enacts legislation which bans most abortions after six weeks.
April 14 – Montana becomes the first state to pass legislation banning TikTok on all personal devices from operating within state lines and barring app stores from offering TikTok for downloads.
NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Shell is fired over an inappropriate relationship with an employee.
April 24
Within minutes of each other, Fox News and CNN fire Tucker Carlson and Don Lemon respectively. Carlson's firing was a result of the Dominion lawsuit settlement, while Lemon's was because of numerous misogynistic comments made in the past.
Ron DeSantis signs a bill authorizing the use of the death penalty for convicted child rapists. The legislation is likely to be challenged for violating Supreme Court precedent.
A shooting takes place in Henryetta, Oklahoma, killing six after the suspect was supposed to stand for a jury trial regarding an accusation of sexting a minor.
May 2 – The 2023 Writers Guild of America strike begins due to unsuccessful pay raise negotiations. The strike halts the production of most movies and TV shows.
May 3
The Federal Reserve raises interest rates by 0.25 percent from 5 percent to 5.25 percent.
New York bans gas stoves and propane heating in new residential constructions. The bans take effect in 2026 for smaller residential buildings and 2029 for larger residential buildings.
U.S. Representative George Santos is indicted by federal prosecutors and charged with multiple counts of wire fraud, money laundering, and theft of private funds.
May 12 – The Title 42 expulsion policy expires at midnight, creating a question about whether a new immigration policy would be formed as a replacement. This comes as a surge of migrants gather at the U.S southern border.
United States Attorney for the District of Massachusetts Rachael Rollins resigns after an ethics probe finds that she had grossly violated multiple policies and lied under oath.
May 24 – DeSantis launches his campaign to run for President of the United States.
May 27 – 2023 United States debt-ceiling crisis: House Republicans and the White House reach a deal to raise the debt ceiling and prevent the United States from defaulting.
May 30 – Nvidia becomes the first chipmaker valued at over $1 trillion, amid the ongoing AI boom.
June
June 2
Mike Pence classified documents incident: The Department of Justice notified Pence that its investigation had ended and that the Department of Justice had decided not to charge him.
June 4 – A privately operated Cessna 560 Citation V carrying three passengers and a pilot crashed near the George Washington National Forest, Virginia killing everyone on board. The plane had strayed into restricted airspace and F16 jets were sent to intercept it. The pilots of the jets could see that the pilot of the plane was passed out.
Apple unveils a mixed-reality headset called the Vision Pro, its first new product category since the Apple Watch in 2015. The device is noted for its expected retail price of $3,499 that is considerably higher than other VR and AR headsets on the market.
CNN CEO Chris Licht departs the network after a 15,000 word profile disgracing Licht was published in The Atlantic.
June 8
The Supreme Court rules in a 5–4 decision that Alabama must redraw its congressional map as it violates section 2 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 in racially discriminating against African-Americans in the state.
The City Council of Hamtramck, Michigan introduced a resolution prohibiting the display of all flags but the American flag and “nations’ flags that represent the international character of [the] City,” which many interpreted as an indirectly targeted ban of the rainbow flag on city property and sidewalks, which had previously been the source of controversy among some residents. Following three hours of public comment, the Council passed the resolution unanimously.
June 15 – Chad Doerman kills three of his children but his wife and stepdaughter manage to escape. He was arrested later that day.[citation needed]
June 18
An underwater submersible called Titan goes missing during a dive to visit the wreck site of the RMS Titanic with five people aboard. Four days later, a portion of the hull is discovered as a part of an American search-and-rescue operation, confirming the loss of the vessel as well as all five passengers on board.
June 20 – Hunter Biden agrees to plead guilty to federal tax and firearms charges.
June 20–26 – A series of tornado outbreaks across the United States kills eight people and injures over 126 others. This included a historic tornado outbreak on June 21 in Colorado.
The Supreme Court rules in a 7–2 decision that prosecutors must prove true threats be either reckless or made with subjective intention in order to convict.
Radio host Ryan Seacrest is announced to be the successor of Pat Sajak on Wheel of Fortune, approximately two weeks after Sajak announced his retirement effective in 2024.
Mike Pence makes a surprise visit to Ukraine, meeting with Zelenskyy and touring both Kyiv and Iprin.
June 30
The Supreme Court rules in a 6–3 decision that the HEROES Act does not grant the president the right to forgive student debts.
The Supreme Court rules in a 6–3 decision that the First Amendment prohibits states from forcing website designers to create designs they disagree with. The decision is seen as a victory for religious conservatives and free speech advocates but a setback for LGBT+ rights.
The Skyline light rail formally opens in Honolulu, Hawaii. It is the first major metro system in the United States that has platform screen doors built into its stations.
Apple Inc. closes with a market capitalization above $3 trillion for the first time, becoming the only public company to do so as of yet.
July
July 1 – Question 4 takes effect in Maryland, legalizing cannabis for recreational use in the state; the first licensed sales take place the same day.
July 11 – Bank of America is ordered by the CFPB to pay $253.4 million, including a $150 million fine, for deceptive practices and misuse of overdraft fees.
July 13 – The FDA announces that the birth control pill Norgestrel, also known as Opill, will be available without a prescription.
New York authorities announce that a suspect has been arrested and charged with three murders in connection with the ongoing Gilgo Beach serial killings case from 2010.
July 21 – Warner Bros.' Barbie and Universal's Oppenheimer are both released, causing the Barbenheimer cultural phenomenon, which encouraged moviegoers to see both films as a double feature. The two movies end up being the highest and third highest grossing movies of the year, respectively.
August 4 – Riots break out in New York City's Union Square during a PS5 giveaway hosted by internet streamer Kai Cenat. Dozens of people are arrested, including Cenat himself, and several police officers are injured.
August 6 – At the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup, the United States loses in the Round of 16 to Sweden 5–4 in penalties after tying 0–0, making it the first time in the Women's World Cup that the United States failed to reach either the quarterfinals or the semifinals.
August 8–11 – Wildfires caused by high winds from Hurricane Dora strike the island of Maui in Hawaii, almost completely destroying the town of Lahaina. As of August 25, 115 people have been killed, 67 have been injured, over 380 people are missing, and 2,207 buildings have been destroyed.[needs update] It marks the deadliest wildfire in the last 100 years.
August 11 – The United States reports it recorded its highest number of suicides in 2022, with 49,449 people taking their own lives, making it the deadliest suicide rate in the country since World War II.
August 20 – Hurricane Hilary makes landfall in Southern California causing widespread flooding and thousands of power outages, making it the first major tropical storm to impact the region and the first to strike California since 1939.
August 23
South Carolina's Supreme Court reverses its earlier prohibition on a six-week abortion ban, and allows the ban to come into effect.
August 28 – Zijie Yan, a professor at UNC Chapel Hill is murdered by one of his graduate students.
August 30 – Hurricane Idalia makes landfall at 7:45am EDT with 125 mph winds near Keaton Beach, Florida. It is the first major hurricane on record to impact the Big Bend of Florida.
New York City Local Law 18 comes into effect, which effectively bans Airbnb from doing business within city limits.
Ex-Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio is sentenced to 22 years in prison for his part in the January 6 Capitol attack.
September 6 – Geologists report the discovery of what may be the largest known deposit of lithium, located in the crater of a dormant volcano along the Nevada–Oregon border, and estimated to contain 20 to 40 million tonnes of the metal.
September 19 – Instacart makes a highly-watched initial public offering on the Nasdaq, with the new stock ticker CART. One of the biggest IPOs of the past two years, the company falls below its IPO price of $30 per share the day after it opens.
The Biden administration recognizes the Cook Islands and Niue as sovereign states, establishing formal relations between both Pacific island countries.
October 3 – Kevin McCarthy is ousted as Speaker of the House, marking the first removal of a speaker by a vote in the House. Eight Republicans, led by Matt Gaetz, join all present Democrats voting to remove in a 216–210 vote.
October 11 – ExxonMobil announces it will acquire Pioneer Natural Resources in a $60 billion all-stock deal, the largest in the energy industry in nearly two decades.
October 13 – NASA launches its Psyche mission to visit the large metallic asteroid 16 Psyche.
A driver is arrested after crashing into a group of Pepperdine University students walking in Malibu, California, killing four and injuring two others.
Federal bankruptcy judge Christopher Lopez rules that Alex Jones cannot use his personal bankruptcy to avoid paying roughly $1.1 billion in damages resulting from the lawsuits over his conspiracy theories and lies about the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.
Meta Platforms is sued by 41 states' attorneys general and DC accusing the social media giant of harming children's health, 33 of which under a joint lawsuit in California and the remaining eight states and DC in their own jurisdictions.
October 25 – A mass shooting occurs in Lewiston, Maine, killing at least 18 and injuring a further 13 in the deadliest mass shooting of the year so far. The suspect is found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound two days later.
October 27 – A retired Colombian army officer who participated in the 2021 assassination of Haitian president Jovenel Moïse is sentenced by a court to life imprisonment in Miami.
Six Flags and Cedar Fair, two of the largest amusement park companies in the United States, announce that they are planning to merge. The future new company will be called Six Flags, however it will be publicly traded under Cedar Fair's current ticker symbol, FUN.
November 14–17 – Biden hosts the APEC summit in San Francisco which Chinese president Xi Jinping attends, marking the first time since 2017 that Xi has set foot in the United States. Both countries at the conclusion of the summit agree to re-open suspended channels of military communications and to cooperate in their fight against climate change.
November 16 – George Santos says he will not seek re-election after the House Ethics Committee issued a scathing report against him, which led to him being charged with several counts of fraud.
November 17 – Sam Altman, the founder and CEO of ChatGPT developer OpenAI, is fired by OpenAI's board for reportedly lying to its board of directors, though reinstated five days later after OpenAI investor Microsoft announces its intention to hire Altman as well as OpenAI cofounder Greg Brockman after the latter's resignation in protest of the board.
A tribute service for Rosalynn Carter, who passed away nine days earlier, is held, attended by all living former First Ladies, President and First Lady Biden, Vice President Harris, Second Gentleman Emhoff, and former Presidents Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter. Her official funeral was held one day later at the Carter's home church in Plains, Georgia.
Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban announces his intention to sell his stake in the team to Miriam Adelson for $3.5 billion, who is selling roughly ten percent of her stake in her late husband Sheldon's company Las Vegas Sands to finance part of her purchase.
November 29 – The US alleges a plot by the Indian government to assassinate the New York-based Sikh separatistGurpatwant Singh Pannun, a spokesperson for the pro-Khalistan group Sikhs for Justice. An Indian government employee is the target of an indictment in New York for their alleged role in the assassination plot.
December
December 1 – The House votes 311–114 to expel George Santos on fraud and corruption allegations, the first congressional expulsion since James Traficant in 2002.
December 3 – Alaska Airlines announces it has agreed to buy Hawaiian Airlines for $1.9 billion, a deal yet to be approved by regulators.
2023 Austin shootings: A man is arrested for six counts of murder and three counts of attempted murder after a shooting spree which began in Austin, Texas and continued in Bexar County.
December 6 – 2023 UNLV shooting: A suspect kills three people and injures one other in a shooting spree before dying in a shootout with police.
December 7
The Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council gives final approval to a new offshore wind farm near Rhode Island.
December 15 – Rudy Giuliani is ordered to pay over $148 million in a defamation case brought by two Georgia election workers, relating to statements that he made during the 2020 election.
December 18
Nippon Steel announces its agreement to acquire U.S. Steel for $14.1 billion. The company will retain its name and maintain its headquarters in Pittsburgh.
The Missouri Supreme Court strikes down a state law which criminalizes homeless residence on state land as well as unanimously striking down another state law which bans COVID-19 vaccine mandates for public workers.
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